By Stephanie Longo

The Italian American community deeply mourns the loss of one of its great pillars on Sunday, Jan. 16. Anthony Vincent Riccio’s great passion was chronicling the lives of the Italian immigrants who settled in Boston’s North End, as well as those who settled in New Haven.

I met Anthony for the first time in 2018 at a joint signing at I Am Books in Boston. I was immediately struck by his friendliness and his kindness, and we forged a wonderful friendship. We would talk about how fun (and sometimes frustrating) it could be researching local communities when information is sometimes hard to come by.

We would talk about how much we loved our respective locales and how it was interesting to discover just one more thing when we thought we had seen it all. And we would talk about just how moving it was to discover the stories of our immigrant forebears and how proud we were not just of our families, but also of all those who came to this country seeking a better life.

The last time I saw him was at IDEA Boston in 2019, where he exhibited the pictures he took in the North End in the 1970s. The sparkle in his eyes as he talked about his work is something I will never forget, and the conversation we had during that trip will remain in my heart forever, as he truly encouraged me to change my life, and he was right there cheering me on as several of the things he predicted for me came to pass. I will truly miss him.

Anthony’s loss will be felt forever, but I know his work will live on through his incredible books and the body of research he left behind. We local ethnic historians are his legacy, as he was truly the best there was. I learned so much from him and am thankful for the friendship we had. My only hope is that in the Great Beyond, he still gets to share the stories he loved so much, and perhaps hug the people whose stories he worked so hard to share on earth.

To purchase one or more of Anthony’s timeless books, please click the covers below: